Attachment for a utility vehicle or for a trailer of such vehicle

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to an attachment for a utility vehicle or trailer pulled by the utility vehicle. The attachment picks up items such as mowed grass or dirt, on or adjacent to a road for loading into the vehicle. A suction fan with inlet and outlet conduits forms part of the attachment. The inlet or suction conduit has a horizontal leg and a trailing leg. A suction nozzle is secured to the free end of the trailing leg. Rotating means are provided between a fan housing and said horizontal leg and/or between said nozzle and said trailing leg for rotating the suction conduit about a horizontal axis and/or the nozzle about the sloping axis of said trailing leg, whereby the nozzle is maintained in a trailing position and enabled to follow automatically the shape of the ground.

United States Patent 1191 Schmidt, Jr. et a1.

[ 1 Dec. 18, 1973 ATTACHMENT FOR A UTILITY VEHICLE OR FOR A TRAILER OFSUCH VEHICLE [76] Inventors: Alfred Schmidt, Jr., Friedrichstrassc 17;Guenter Pastari, lm Frongarten 20, both of St. Blasien, Germany [22]Filed: Feb. 18, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 227,517

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No.88,000, Nov. 9,

1970, abandoned.

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data June 20, 1970 Germany P 20 30579.7

[52] US. Cl. 15/340, 15/359 {51 1 Int. Cl A471 9/00 [58] Field of Search15/340, 354, 359

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,458,258 l/l969 Furr 15/340705,585 7/1902 Hope 15/354 X 948,164 2/1910 Dougherty.... 15/354 X2,361,909 11/1944 Bernal 15/340 X 1/1955 Nisbet 15/359 X 3,460,1868/1969 Sherrill et al. 15/340 3,676,891 7/1972 Murray et a1. 15/340 XPrimary ExaminerHarvey C. Hornsby Assistant E.taminer-C. K. MooreAttorney-Wolfgang G. Fasse [57] ABSTRACT The invention relates to anattachment for a utility vehicle or trailer pulled by the utilityvehicle. The attachment picks up items such as mowed grass or dirt, onor adjacent to a road for loading into the vehicle. A suction fan withinlet and outlet conduits forms part of the attachment. The inlet orsuction conduit has a horizontal leg and a trailing-leg. A suctionnozzle is secured to the free end of the trailing leg. Rotating meansare provided between a fan housing and said horizontal leg and/orbetween said nozzle and said trailing leg for rotating the suctionconduit about a horizontal axis and/or the nozzle about the sloping axisof said trailing leg, whereby the nozzle is maintained in a trailingposition and enabled to follow au tomatically the shape of the ground.

26 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures mmmm 3718,865

" SHEET 30F 3 FIG. 7

ATTACHMENT FOR A UTILITY VEHICLE OR FOR A TRAILER OF SUCH VEHICLE CROSSREFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION The present application is acontinuation-in-part application of copending U.S. Pat. application Ser.No. 88,000 filed Nov. 9, 1970 by the present applicants which is nowabandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to anattachment for a utility vehicle, which attachment may be coupled to thevehicle itself or to a trailer pulled by the vehicle. The attachment isintended for removing items such as cut grass, leaves, dirt or the likefrom the road and from shoulders adjacent to the road as well as fromany median strip to load such items onto the vehicle or trailer.

Although most operations in connection with road maintenance and streetcleaning are being done mechanically, so far no practical apparatus hasbeen known for removing cut grass and the like from roadside shouldersand median strips. Accordingly, usually cut grass or accumulated leaveshavebeen removed by hand by road maintenance crews. Hitherto, thismanual work has been considered to be unavoidable, especially where thegrass shoulders are narrow and especially where such shoulders areinterrupted by guide barriers or similar road markings.

On roads with very wide grass shoulders or median strips it is possibleto employ so called field choppers, such as are used in agriculture.These devices are constructed for mounting on the side of a tractor andwith wheels for support on the ground. Therefore, these agriculturaldevices are not particularly suitable for use on narrow shoulders,especially if the shoulders have a slope, or gullies or otherobstructions or are separated from the road proper by guide means. Afurther drawback of these known devices is seen in that they constitutea traffic obstruction when they move along the road because the knowndevices extend laterally away from the tractor.

Another known apparatus comprises a mowing device adapted for mountingto the front end of a vehicle. Following to the mower there is securedto the vehicle a fan for blowing the cut grass away from the road andfrom the shoulders, so that it falls to the ground at a substantialdistance away from the edge of the road. The grass which is thus removedfrom the road is then usually raked together by hand rakes or bymechanical rakes and is then transported away. This known apparatus isindeed useful for removing the cut grass from the road; however, it doesnot solve the problem of transporting the cut grass away.

Another known attachment for mowing and removing grass from road sidesis described in U.S. Pat. No. 840,794. This known attachment isconstructed for mounting on the rear end of a tractor and comprises aframe connected to the tractor by means of a parallelogram linkage forraising and lowering and it projects laterally beyond the tractor. Amowing cutter is provided on the projecting portion and directlyadjacent to the mowing cutter there is an intake opening of a suctionconduit connected to a suction fan. The fan delivers the sucked-in grassthrough a delivery conduit to loading space on a trailer. This knowndevice has the same drawbacks as mentioned above in connection withagricultural devices. Since the mower and the ground suction means arerigidly connected with the frame which is supported on wheels, thedevice cannot be used or may be used rather inefficiently on unevenground or sloping shoulders. Besides it is difficult for the driver tokeep an eye on the position of the projecting device relative to anyobstructions and to steer the tractor so as to avoid such obstructions.

U.S. Pat. No. 3,460,186 discloses a vacuum type street cleaner, having asuction conduit which is maintained in a vertical operating position.Such operating position necessitates telescoping means for automaticallyvarying the effective length of the vertical suction conduit when thesuction nozzle encounters an obstacle on the street surface. Smallobstacles may be cleared by pivoting the normally vertical suctionconduit out of its vertical operating position. However, this brings thenozzle into a substantially ineffective position since the nozzle cannotadapt itself to the shape of the ground nor to the tilted position ofthe suction conduit until the latter is back in its vertical operatingposition. Thus, this device is not suitable for cleaning a slopingsurface.

OBJECTS OF THE lNVENTlON In view of the foregoing the invention aims atachieving the following objects singly or in combination:

to overcome the outlined drawbacks of prior art devices; morespecifically, to position a suction nozzle in such a manner relative tothe ground that during operation the nozzle intake opening always takesup the optimum suction distance from the ground regardless whether theattachment is carried by the vehicle itself or by a trailer pulled bythe vehicle;

to assure constantly high efficient pick-up or suction regardless of theshape or slope or unevenness of the ground, whereby the nozzle shalladjust its instantaneous position automatically in response to the shapeof the ground in a vertical direction and- /or in a lateral direction; I

to guide the suction nozzle along the ground, preferably at apredetermined distance above the ground, in response to the shape of theground, whereby the nozzle continuously adapts its position to suchshape of the ground;

to provide a suction means which is rotatably adjustable about at leastone axis, preferably about three different axes, automatically and inresponse to the shape of the ground, whereby any instantaneous positionof the nozzle depends on the shape of the ground at that position andnot from the position of the vehicle;

to improve the efficiency of operation, especially in connection withroad maintenance and cleaning whereby, if desired, the nozzle end of thesuction conduit may be guided by an operator;

to provide'a trailing position for the suction nozzle regardless whetherthe attachment is secured to the front or rear end of a vehicle or to atrailer pulled by said vehicle whereby the suction conduit will bemaintained in a trailing operating position slanting relative to thedirection of vehicle advance;

to provide the suction conduit with a horizontal portion of sufficientlength to keep the slanting conduit portion out of interference with thevehicle proper;

to mount the attachment in such a manner that the forces exerted on theattachment by the travel of the vehicle are substantially smaller thanheretofore;

to mount the suction means in such a position that road limiting guidemarkers or the like having an ordinary height may be passed over; I

to employ ball bearings for rotatably connecting the suction means orsections thereof so as to rotate these sections on their respectivelongitudinal axes;

to make at least one suction conduit section longitudinally extendible;

to support the attachment for horizontal and preferably also forvertical adjustment,

to combine the suction means with a mower; and

to locate a delivery conduit in a position so as to adjust it about avertical axis.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention there is provided anattachment for a utility vehicle having a suction conduit with one endconnected to a suction fan and having secured to the other end thereofguided suction nozzle means supported on the ground with a suctionopening directed toward the ground, and arranged to be movable oradjustable automatically in response to the shape of the ground about ahorizontal axis for providing a trailing and tilting movement resultingin a vertical nozzle adjustment and/or about a tilted axis resulting ina rotating lateral nozzle adjustment on a sloping ground surface. Theattachment may be coupled to the vehicle itself, for example, to thefront or rear end thereof, or to a trailer which is pulled by thevehicle.

BRIEF FIGURE DESCRIPTION In order that the invention may be clearlyunderstood, it will now be described, by way of example, with referenceto the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective side-front view of the present attachmentsecured to a truck;

FIG. 2 illustrates a side elevational view of an embodiment comprisingmodifications as compared to FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial, sectional view along the line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a partial view of the connection of the suction nozzle to theend of the suction conduit;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a further embodiment wherein theattachment is carried on a trailer;

FIG. 6 illustrates a plan side view of a further embodiment wherein theattachment is carried on the rear end of a truck;

FIG. 7 shows a somewhat schematic top view onto the trailer arrangementof FIG. 5; and

FIG. 8 is a rearview, partially in section of the trailer of FIG. 5,whereby the attachment members have been omitted since they are notnecessary for showing the lateral adjustability of the trailer platform.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS The attachment assemblyshown in FIG. 1, comprisesa suction fan 1 which is driven by means of anengine 2 through the shaft 3. Fan and engine are secured on a commonframe or support structure 4. A suction conduit 8 is connected to theinlet of the fan 1 and carries on its other end a suction nozzle 9. Thenozzle 9 and the conduit 8 will be referred to as the suction means.

A mower means 11 is secured through the retaining means to the suctionnozzle and, in the interests of simplicity of the drawing, the mowerdrive is not shown.

A delivery conduit 12 is connected to the outlet 16 of the fan 1 and hasan endpiece 13 above the loading space 14 of the vehicle 15. Thedelivery conduit 12 is rotatably connected, for example in a slidebearing 16, to the outlet 16' of the fan 1. The rotatable mounting ofthe delivery conduit 12 which permits moving the conduit 12 about avertical axis has the advantage that the delivery conduit 12 easilyreaches all parts of the loading space 14 and may also be swung over toa trailer or other vehicle.

A hydraulic piston cylinder means 17 is pivotally mounted, for example,to the wall of the housing of the fan 1 to journal about a stud 18. Itspiston rod 19 is connected through member 20 to the horizontal portion21 of the conduit 8 which is connected by rotation permitting means,such as a ball bearing ring mount 22 to the inlet of fan 1. By operatingthe hydraulic piston cylinder means 17, the suction conduit 8 is turned,preferably as a unit, as indicated by the arrow P about its horizontalaxis, whereby the lower section 24 of the conduit 8 may be lifted, forexample, for short distance transportation. When the means 17 is notoperated, the conduit 8 may freely rotate about the ring mount 22.

Further rotatable means 23 which may be similar to the ring mount 22 areprovided between the downwardly sloping lower section 24 and the suctionnozzle 9, whereby free rotation (arrow F, FIG. 2.) about thelongitudinal axis of section 24 is possible. Section 24 extendsoppositely to the direction E of vehicle travel and downwardly so thatsection 24 is inclined rearwardly, whereby in combination with the freerotation about means 22 and 23 the nozzle 9 is free to move up and downsubstantially vertically as well as at an angle to the horizontal inresponse to the shape of the ground surface 26, whereby its positionmatches any unevenness of said surface, and accordingly a very efficientpick-up or vacuum removal is achieved.

The further rotatable means 23 permits using the present apparatus evenon roadside shoulders having a substantial inclination or slope to thehorizontal, whereby the suction nozzle is movable automatically inadaptation to the profile of the ground to assume positions in which theplane defined by the suction opening 39 is inclined to the horizontal.

A third possibility of moving or rotating the nozzle 9 is shown in theform of a snap link 50 arranged between the rotatable means 23 and thenozzle 9 as shown in FIG. 4. The snap link 50 comprises resilientfingers 51 and the nozzle 9 a shaped head 52 which lightly and removablyfits between the fingers 51 for easy rotational and/or pivotal movement,whereby the suction nozzle 9 is capable of automatically pivoting aboutan axis extending perpendicularly to the plane defined by the suctionopening 39 to even better follow the ground profile and relative toobstructions. Thus, the suction nozzle 9 can move out of the way of anobstruction by pivoting about a point in contact with the obstruction.

In FIG. 2 the suction nozzle 9 is shown in a typical trailing positionrelative to the forward vehicle movement indicated by the arrow E. Thedownwardly directed section 24 of the suction conduit 8 takes up aninclined position, the sloping angle of which is determined by theprofile of the ground surface of the road shoulder. For'this purpose,the suction nozzle 9 is preferably supported with respect to the ground26 by guide means such as two skids 25 or wheels. Each skid 25 isadjustably secured in a retaining device 27" which is securely connectedto the suction nozzle 9. A rod 27a extends through the retaining device'27 and may be fixed in an adjusted position by means of a set screw27'.

Mounting the present attachment to the front end of the vehicle isparticularly advantageous, especially, when the suction conduit 8 issufficiently rigid to be self-supporting and extends between the suctioninlet connection of the fan 1 and the shoulder to be cleared. Thus, afirst section 21 extends substantially perpendicularly to the directionE of travel and horizontally above the ground. A further section 24which is joined to the first section 21 by an elbow section 40 isdirected downwardly and opposite to the direction E of travel of thevehicle in such a manner that the suction nozzle 9 is guided in atrailing position relative to the vehicle. According to this embodimentthe portion of the attachment which extends laterally outside the widthof the vehicle comprises merely the suction conduit 8 which is connectedto the fan 1 in such a way that the suction nozzle 9 secured to its freeend will slide on the ground as it is drawn or trailed by the vehicle15. In this manner the least possible forces are transmitted both to thesuction conduit 8 and also to the remaining components of the entireapparatus. This is an advantage of the invention.

In order to allow movement past guiding means such as barriers,direction signs, bollards, or similar obsturctions or marking devicespresent alongside of the road, the horizontal section 21 of the suctionconduit 8 is arranged at such a height above the ground that it can passover these means.

FIG. 2 shows a slightly modified embodiment. The suction fan 1 and theengine 2 are mounted on guides 28, 29, 30 to be horizontally displacablein a support structure 31, 32. The horizontal movement of the fan 1 andengine can be effected by a hydraulic or pneumatic piston cylinderarrangement (not shown). The support structure 31, 32 is connected toplate 34 mounted on the vehicle through the carrier device 33 comprisingsaid supporting arms 5 and 6. The angular position of the supportingarms can be adjusted by means of the hydraulic or pneumatic pistoncylinder arrangement 7, so that the fan/engine is adjustable in heighteven when the vehicle is under way.

The piston cylinder arrangement 7 also has a very important functionduring the mounting of the attachment on the vehicle. For this purposethe piston cylinder 7 is connected through pipes to a source of pressureon the vehicle. By extension of the piston rod the carrier device 33 islifted so that when a predetermined height is reached the carrying plate34 on the vehicle 15 is positioned underneath the noses 35 of thecarrier device 33. By subsequently lowering the carrier device 33 byreducing the length of the piston rod, the plate 34 engages under thenoses 35. An automatic centering may be achieved by providing conicalrecesses in the plate 34 on the vehicle and by shaping the noses 35conically.

After the carrier 33 and the plate 34 have been secured in their engagedposition by screws or any other connecting means so that they are heldin engagement,

the attachment can be lifted from the ground by further shortening ofthe piston rod and brought to the desired height.

In order to limit the stroke of the piston rod to a predeterminedlength, especially for mounting the attachment, feet 36, 37 ofadjustable height may be attached to the supporting structure 4 or 31 asseen in FIG. 1.

A retaining rod 38 is supported on the vehicle 15 and connected to thesuction conduit 8 by a chain 38 as illustrated in FIG. 1 for securingthe downwardly directed section 24 of the suction conduit 8 in an upwardposition. To bring the section 24 into such upward position, the entireconduit 8 is simply rotated about the ring mount 22. In such upwardposition the piston cylinder arrangement 17 is substantially relievedfrom any load condition.

As mentioned, ball bearing ring mount 23 permits that the plane definedby the nozzle opening 39 may assume an inclined position relative to thehorizontal. However, because of the inclined position of the downwardlydirected section 24 of the suction conduit 8, the two ball bearing ringmounts 22 and 23 in combination permit the above mentioned pivotingmovement of the suction nozzle 9.

Thus, the arrangement shown in FIG. 4 is not necessary for asatisfactory operation of the present invention. However, providingthree or even more rotatably adjustable connecting means may bedesirable, e.g. where especially difficult ground surfaces are involved.

The ability to adjust by means of the set screws 27' the height of thenozzle 9 above the ground is advantageous for matching the groundclearance of the suction opening to the height of the grass or thenature or shape of the ground, whereby the efficiency is increased.

FIG. 3 illustrates one possible example of the ball bearing ring mount22 or 23. The horizontal section 21 of the conduit 8 has an end pieceprovided with a flange 61. A first ball bearing 62 which has its ballssecured in a cage 63 is arranged between the flange 61 and the housingwall 64 of the fan 1. A second ball bearing 65 with balls secured in acage 66 is provided between the flange 61 and a closure cap 67 whichsecures the entire ring mount to said housing wall 64 as by screws 68.

In order to easily detach the conduit 8 from its end piece 60 a bayonetconnection 69, 70 may be provided, for example, between the end piece 60and a portion 71 of the horizontal conduit section. For varying thelength of the horizontal section it may be deisrable to providetelescoping connections between several conduit portions such as 71 and72. The ease of removal of the conduit 8 from its endpiece 60 has theadvantage that the conduit may be transported on the vehicle when theattachment is not in use, thus avoiding interferring with the trafficsince the fan and its drive need not be wider than the vehicle itself.

The above mentioned ability that the attachment is horizontally movableon guide tracks 29, 30, 31 transversely to the direction E of travel ofthe vehicle 15, for example, by means of a hydraulic cylinder, has theadvantage that the suction conduit may be diverted in those cases wherethe shoulder is interrupted by particularly large obstructions, whichare higher than the horizontal section 21 of the conduit 8. Suchhorizontal displacement of the suction means can also be achieved byvarying the length of the horizontal section 21 as described withreference to FIG. 3. If both the above mentioned possibilities forhorizontally adjusting the latral position of the suction means 8, 9,are provided in combination the lateral stroke of the suction nozzle cancover a substantial range. In this way it is possible, for example bysuccessive cleaning of parallel strips, to clear a particularly wideshoulder or median strip.

It is also possible to use a flexible hose to replace part or all ofconduit 8. The hose would be movably supported above the ground byholding means controllably attached to the vehicle. Control by hand, forexample by a handle attached to the suction nozzle 9 may also beprovided for picking up grass, leaves, rubbish or the like from anysurface, especially the road surface.

Where it is desired to do the mowing and picking up of the grass in oneand the same operation, the invention proposes that the suction nozzle 9should be preceded by said mowing device 11 which, for example, in theform of a mowing bar, can be secured directly to the suction nozzle asshown. Such a mowing device can be coupled to a power take-off shaft ofthe vehicle engine or to the driving engine of the suction fan, forexample through a flexible shaft or a belt drive. It may also be drivenhydraulically or electrically. Incidentally, the drive for the fan 1could also be derived by means of a power take-off shaft directly fromthe vehicle engine. Such power take-off shafts are well known.

In view of the foregoing it will be appreciated that the nozzle movementin response to the shape of the ground takes place automatically due tothe ease and facility provided by the invention in the form of the threedimensional, rotational adjustment of the suction means, whereby themovement of the suction nozzle is controlled directly by the groundprofile. Such control brings with it a substantial improvement in thesuction efficiency as compared with known apparatus since the positionof the suction opening with respect to the ground, at any given instant,does not depend on the position of the entire attachment or of thevehicle, but depends directly on the profile of the ground in the areafrom which material is to be removed.

FIG. illustrates the further embodiment according to the inventionwherein the attachment is supported on a trailer vehicle 80 comprisinghitching means 81 for coupling the trailer to the vehicle 15. Thetrailer comprises a platform 82 which is movable back and forth in ahorizontal direction as indicated by the double arrow V. The shifting ofthe platform 82 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.8. However, it should be noted here that the underside of the platformis provided with guide means 83, 84 which permit said horizontal backand forth shifting of the platform 82.

As in FIG. I, the exhaust fan 1 is driven by an engine 2 coupled to thefan through a shaft 3. The engine may, for example, rest on its ownsupport structure 4 which in turn is secured to the trailer platform 82.The remaining structural details correspond to those described withreference to FIG. 1 and therefore these details need not be describedagain. However, it should be noted that the horizontal leg 21 of theexhaust conduit will have a sufficient length, preferably an adjustablelength as described with reference to FIG. 3 so that the downwardlyextending and rearwardly slanting leg 24 of the exhaust conduit willclear the lateral confines of the vehicle and trailer. Due to the firstrotatable connecting means 22 the horizontal leg 21 is rotatable backand forth in the directions of the double arrow P and due to the secondrotating means 23 between the rearwardly slanting leg 24 and the suctionnozzle 9 the latter is rotatable about the longitudinal axis of thedownwardly slanting leg 24 as indicated by the double arrrow F.

The supporting rod 38 and the chain 38 will maintain the downwardlyextending leg 24 in its slanting operating position whereby due to theyielding of the chain 38' the nozzle will continuously adjust itsposition in response to the shape of the ground.

The embodiment of FIG. 6 is quite similar to that of FIG. 2 except thatnow the carrying plate 34 is attached to the rear end of the vehicle 15rather than to its front end. Moreover, the embodiment of FIG. 6comprises an operator seat where an operator may sit for controlling theposition of the nozzle 9, for example, simply by actuating the chain 38'or by handling power controls as will be described in more detail withreference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

A further modification illustrated in FIG. 6 comprises locking means 86and hinge means 87 as well as a conduit supporting bail 88 attached tothe side of the vehicle 15, for example, by means ofa hinge 89 and awing nut 90. When the conduit leg 21 extends horizontally outwardly andexhaust conduit 21, 24 is in its operating position and the lockingmeans 86 are locked. However, when the exhaust conduit is to betransported, the locking means 86 are released and the conduit is tiltedabout the hinge 87 so that the leg 24 may rest against the side wallofthe vehicle whereby it is held in this rest position by the bail 88.

FIG. 7 illustrates a somewhat schematic top view onto the traileraccording to FIG. 5. The full line representation of the exhaustconduits 21 and 24 shows these conduits in their rest position wherebythe conduits are carried on the trailer. The dashed line representationof the exhaust conduits 21 and 24 shows these conduits in theiroperating position. Similar as in FIG. 6, hinge means 87' are providedfor permitting the tilting of the exhaust conduits between their restand their operating position. The exhaust conduits are also locked intheir operating position just as in FIG. 6. Furthermore, the horizontalleg 21 of the exhaust conduit has a short flange portion 21a to whichthe remaining portion 21 is hinged by said hinge means 87'. A bail 88 isprovided for securing the conduit means in their rest position on theplatform 82 of the trailer 80.

Adjacent to the operator seat 85 there are provided control means 91 forcontrolling the engine 2 as well as a further power means for shiftingthe platform 82 horizontally back and forth as indicated by the arrow Vin FIG. 5 or by the arrow 101 in FIG. 8. For this purpose, a controllever 91 on a control panel 92 adjusts a valve 93 which is connectedthrough a conduit means 94 to a source of power such as a compressor 95which may, for example, also be carried on the platform 82 of thetrailer 80. The compressor 95 may be driven by the shaft 3 of the engine2 as indicated at 96.

The valve 93 is connected through conduits 97 and 97' to a pistoncylinder arrangement 98 rigidly supported on a frame member 98' carriedby the trailer. The piston rod 99 of the piston cylinder arrangement 98is connected to the movable platform 82 through a link 100.

The platform 82 is supported on the trailer by guide means 84 comprisingguide rods 84' and guide grooves 84". As seen in FIG. 5, the guidegrooves 84" may have a cross sectional shape of a dovetail whereby atilting or removal of the platform 82 in an upward direction isprevented. The guide rails 84' are rigidly supported on the trailer byframe members 102.

Since the piston cylinder arrangement 98 is rigidly supported on theframe structure of the trailer, the movement of the piston rod 99 willmove the platform 82 toward the right when pressure is admitted throughconduit 97. The platform will move to the left as seen in FIG. 8, whenpressure is admitted through conduit 97. Thus, the lateral extension ofthe suction conduit means 21, 24 may be controlled by the operatorthrough the control lever 91.

A special advantage of the invention is seen in that by arranging acarrier plate 34 at the front and rear end of the vehicle, it ispossible to carry the attachment either at the front end or at the rearend without any modifications because the nose 35 will fit one or theother carrier plate 34.

In connection with the trailer embodiment it will be appreciated thatseparate steering means for the trailer may be provided so that theoperator may steer the trailer along a soft shoulder, for example, whilethe pulling vehicle may remain on the hard surface road. Thus, a lateralcontrol of the position of the suction conduit and nozzle is alsopossible, even if the piston cylinder arrangement 98 should be out oforder.

With regard to the piston cylinder means 19 it should be noted that uponpressure release, the suction conduit means are free to rotate about thehorizontal axis of the conduit leg 21.

As has been described above with reference to H6. 3, the downwardlyslanting leg 24 of the suction conduit means may also be arranged totelescope just as the horizontal conduit leg 21. In an alternativeembodiment the leg 24 may be made of flexible material, for examplerubber.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specificexample embodiments, it is to be understood, that it is intended tocover all modifications and equivalents within the scope of the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:

1. In an attachment for a utility vehicle having a front and a rear end,for removing items from the ground into a loading space by means of asuction fan having a housing with an inlet and an outletin said housing,wherein suction conduit means extend to the ground through a horizontalleg from said inlet of the fan and through a downward leg connected tosaid horizontal leg, said horizontal and downward leg each having arespective longitudinal axis, wherein a delivery conduit connects theoutlet of the fan to said loading space, and wherein a nozzle having asuction opening facing the ground is connected to said downward leg, theimprovement comprising first rotatable connecting means for connectingone end of the horizontal leg of the suction conduit to the inletopening of the housing of said suction fan, and second rotatableconnecting means for connecting the nozzle to said downward leg of saidsuction conduit for permitting rotation of the nozzle relative to saiddownward leg of the suction conduit about said longitudinal axis of saiddownward leg and in response to the ground shape, whereby said firstrotatable connecting means permit the downward leg of the suctionconduit to float with respect to the ground so that its longitudinalaxis remains in a slanted, trailing operating position relative to thedirection of vehicle advance, and whereby the second rotatableconnecting means allow the nozzle to pivot with respect to the slantingleg of the conduit to adapt the orientation of the nozzle to anyvariations in the contour of the ground in a direction perpendicular tothe direction of travel.

2. The attachment according to claim 1, wherein said first rotatableconnecting means comprise a rotatable bearing member interposed betweenthe suction fan inlet and the horizontal leg of the suction conduit toallow for automatic rotation of the suction conduit about thelongitudinal axis of its horizontal leg whereby the nozzle is allowed tomove substantially vertically up and down.

3. The attachment according to claim 1, wherein said second rotatableconnecting means comprises a further rotatable bearing member interposedbetween the downward leg of the suction conduit and the nozzle wherebythe nozzle is rotatable about the slanted longitudinal axis of saiddownward leg of the suction conduit.

4. The attachment according to claim 1, further comprising a thirdrotatable member forming part of the nozzle for connecting the nozzle tosaid second rotatable connecting means whereby the nozzle may pivotrelative to said downward leg of said suction conduit.

5. The attachment according to claim 1, further comprising means formounting the suction fan on said front end of said vehicle, said suctionconduit being of rigid construction, said horizontal leg of said suctionconduit extending from said fan inlet laterally outwardly for a lengthsufficient so that said downward leg of the suction conduit clears thevehicle proper, and knee conduit means for rigidly joining thehorizontal and downwardly slanted conduit legs to each other.

6. The attachment according to claim 5, wherein said horizontal conduitleg is spaced above the ground sufficiently to extend over ordinary roadedge defining means.

7. The attachment according to claim 5, wherein said horizontal suctionconduit leg comprises a plurality of telescoping conduit elements forhorizontally extending the length of said suction conduit.

8. The attachment according to claim 1, wherein said first and secondrotatable connecting means comprise ball bearing ring mount means.

9. The attachment according to claim 1, further comprising guide meansattached to the nozzle for movement of the nozzle along the ground inspaced relation slightly above the ground, and means for adjusting saidspaced relation.

10. The attachment according to claim 1, further comprising means forreleasably connecting the suction conduit to said inlet of the suctionfan.

11. The attachment according to claim 1, further comprising power meansoperatively connected to said suction conduit for rotating the latter asa unit between an inoperative and an operative position.

12. The attachment according to claim 1, further comprising a supportstructure, guide bars on said support structure extending horizontallyand substantially perpendicularly to the direction of vehicle travel,and means for movably supporting said suction fan on said guide bars.

13. The attachment according to claim 1, wherein saidsuction conduit isa flexible hose, said attachment further comprising means for supportingsaid hose.

14. The attachment according to claim I, further comprising a supportstructure, supporting arms pivotally connected to said supportstructure, carrier means also pivotally connected to said support arms,and power means operatively connected between said support structure andsaid carrier means for changing the relative elevation between thesupport structure and the carrier means, said carrier means comprisingmeans for connecting the carrier means to the vehicle proper.

15. The attachment according to claim 14, wherein said means forconnecting the carrier means to the vehicle proper are connected to thefront end of the vehicle.

16. The attachment according to claim 1, further comprising means forrotatably securing said delivery conduit to the outlet of the suctionfan, whereby the delivery conduit is rotatable about a vertical axis.

17. The attachment according to claim 14, wherein said means forconnecting the carrier means to the vehicle proper are connected to therear end of the vehicle.

18. The attachment according to claim 1, further comprising a trailer,means for attaching the trailer to said vehicle and means for supportingthe attachment on said trailer.

19. The attachment according to claim 18, further comprising means aspart of said suction conduit for rtating the latter into an inoperativeposition, and support means on said trailer for supporting the suctionconduit in its inoperative position on the trailer.

20. The attachment according to claim 18, wherein said trailer comprisesa movable platform for supporting said fan, means for supporting saidplatform, control means and power means operatively connected to saidplatform and responsive to said control means for shifting said platformlaterally back and forth in a direction extending in a plane defined bysaid platform and substantially perpendicularly to the direction ofvehicle advance.

21. The attachment according to claim 1, further comprising operatoractuated control means operatively arranged for controlling the positionof said nozzle.

22. The attachment according to claim 21, further comprising an operatorseat positioned for facilitating the actuation of said operator actuatedcontrol means.

23. The attachment according to claim 1, further comprising means aspart of said suction conduit for rotating the latter into an inoperativeposition wherein the suction conduit is located substantially within thewidth of said vehicle.

24. The attachment according to claim 23, wherein said suction conduitin its inoperative position rests on said vehicle.

25. In an attachment for a utility vehicle having a front end and a rearend, for removiang items from the ground into a loading space by meansof a suction fan having a housing with an inlet and an outlet in saidhousing, wherein suction conduit means extend from said inlet in thehousing to the ground, wherein a suction nozzle is attached to saidsuction conduit means, and wherein a delivery conduit connects theoutlet of the fan housing to said loading space, the improvementcomprising a horizontal suction conduit leg extending laterallyoutwardly from said fan housing, a downwardly slanting suction conduitleg connected to said horizontally extending suction conduit leg, saiddownwardly slanting suction conduit leg having a longitudinal axisextending at an angle relative to the horizontal and in a trailingposition relative to the direction of vehicle advance, and rotatableconnecting means for connecting said nozzle to said downwardly slantingsuction conduit leg whereby said nozzle is permitted to rotate aboutsaid longitudinal axis of the downwardly slanting and trailing suctionconduit leg.

26. The attachment according to claim 25, wherein said downwardlyslanting leg of the suction conduit is made of flexible material.

e UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFECATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3;7?8,865 may December '9, 973

Inventor(s) Alfred Schmidt 9 JP et a1 It is certified that errotappearsin the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are herebycorrected as shown below:

[30]. Foreign Application Priority Data June 20, 1970 Germany P 20 30579.7

July 23, 1971 Germany P .21 36 8 11.2

Signed and sealed this 19th day of November 1974.

(SEAL) Attest: I

MCCOY M. GIBSON JR. I c. MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer v vCommissioner of Patents USCOMM DC 60870-P69 FORM PC7-1050 uo-es) v i U].GOVIINUINT IIHTING OFFICE 1 ll. O'HNO'SSQ.

1. In an attachment for a utility vehicle having a front and a rear end,for removing items from the ground into a loading space by means of asuction fan having a housing with an inlet and an outlet in saidhousing, wherein suction conduit means extend to the ground through ahorizontal leg from said inlet of the fan and through a downward legconnected to said horizontal leg, said horizontal and downward leg eachhaving a respective longitudinal axis, wherein a delivery conduitconnects the outlet of the fan to said loading space, and wherein anozzle having a suction opening facing the ground is connected to saiddownward leg, the improvement comprising first rotatable connectingmeans for connecting one end of the horizontal leg of the suctionconduit to the inlet opening of the housing of said suction fan, andsecond rotatable connecting means for connecting the nozzle to saiddownward leg of said suction conduit for permitting rotation of thenozzle relative to said downward leg of the suction conduit about saidlongitudinal axis of said downward leg and in response to the groundshape, whereby said first rotatable connecting means permit the downwardleg oF the suction conduit to float with respect to the ground so thatits longitudinal axis remains in a slanted, trailing operating positionrelative to the direction of vehicle advance, and whereby the secondrotatable connecting means allow the nozzle to pivot with respect to theslanting leg of the conduit to adapt the orientation of the nozzle toany variations in the contour of the ground in a direction perpendicularto the direction of travel.
 2. The attachment according to claim 1,wherein said first rotatable connecting means comprise a rotatablebearing member interposed between the suction fan inlet and thehorizontal leg of the suction conduit to allow for automatic rotation ofthe suction conduit about the longitudinal axis of its horizontal legwhereby the nozzle is allowed to move substantially vertically up anddown.
 3. The attachment according to claim 1, wherein said secondrotatable connecting means comprises a further rotatable bearing memberinterposed between the downward leg of the suction conduit and thenozzle whereby the nozzle is rotatable about the slanted longitudinalaxis of said downward leg of the suction conduit.
 4. The attachmentaccording to claim 1, further comprising a third rotatable memberforming part of the nozzle for connecting the nozzle to said secondrotatable connecting means whereby the nozzle may pivot relative to saiddownward leg of said suction conduit.
 5. The attachment according toclaim 1, further comprising means for mounting the suction fan on saidfront end of said vehicle, said suction conduit being of rigidconstruction, said horizontal leg of said suction conduit extending fromsaid fan inlet laterally outwardly for a length sufficient so that saiddownward leg of the suction conduit clears the vehicle proper, and kneeconduit means for rigidly joining the horizontal and downwardly slantedconduit legs to each other.
 6. The attachment according to claim 5,wherein said horizontal conduit leg is spaced above the groundsufficiently to extend over ordinary road edge defining means.
 7. Theattachment according to claim 5, wherein said horizontal suction conduitleg comprises a plurality of telescoping conduit elements forhorizontally extending the length of said suction conduit.
 8. Theattachment according to claim 1, wherein said first and second rotatableconnecting means comprise ball bearing ring mount means.
 9. Theattachment according to claim 1, further comprising guide means attachedto the nozzle for movement of the nozzle along the ground in spacedrelation slightly above the ground, and means for adjusting said spacedrelation.
 10. The attachment according to claim 1, further comprisingmeans for releasably connecting the suction conduit to said inlet of thesuction fan.
 11. The attachment according to claim 1, further comprisingpower means operatively connected to said suction conduit for rotatingthe latter as a unit between an inoperative and an operative position.12. The attachment according to claim 1, further comprising a supportstructure, guide bars on said support structure extending horizontallyand substantially perpendicularly to the direction of vehicle travel,and means for movably supporting said suction fan on said guide bars.13. The attachment according to claim 1, wherein said suction conduit isa flexible hose, said attachment further comprising means for supportingsaid hose.
 14. The attachment according to claim 1, further comprising asupport structure, supporting arms pivotally connected to said supportstructure, carrier means also pivotally connected to said support arms,and power means operatively connected between said support structure andsaid carrier means for changing the relative elevation between thesupport structure and the carrier means, said carrier means comprisingmeans for connecting the carrier means to the vehicle proper.
 15. Theattachment according to claim 14, wherein said means for connecting thecarrier means to The vehicle proper are connected to the front end ofthe vehicle.
 16. The attachment according to claim 1, further comprisingmeans for rotatably securing said delivery conduit to the outlet of thesuction fan, whereby the delivery conduit is rotatable about a verticalaxis.
 17. The attachment according to claim 14, wherein said means forconnecting the carrier means to the vehicle proper are connected to therear end of the vehicle.
 18. The attachment according to claim 1,further comprising a trailer, means for attaching the trailer to saidvehicle and means for supporting the attachment on said trailer.
 19. Theattachment according to claim 18, further comprising means as part ofsaid suction conduit for rotating the latter into an inoperativeposition, and support means on said trailer for supporting the suctionconduit in its inoperative position on the trailer.
 20. The attachmentaccording to claim 18, wherein said trailer comprises a movable platformfor supporting said fan, means for supporting said platform, controlmeans and power means operatively connected to said platform andresponsive to said control means for shifting said platform laterallyback and forth in a direction extending in a plane defined by saidplatform and substantially perpendicularly to the direction of vehicleadvance.
 21. The attachment according to claim 1, further comprisingoperator actuated control means operatively arranged for controlling theposition of said nozzle.
 22. The attachment according to claim 21,further comprising an operator seat positioned for facilitating theactuation of said operator actuated control means.
 23. The attachmentaccording to claim 1, further comprising means as part of said suctionconduit for rotating the latter into an inoperative position wherein thesuction conduit is located substantially within the width of saidvehicle.
 24. The attachment according to claim 23, wherein said suctionconduit in its inoperative position rests on said vehicle.
 25. In anattachment for a utility vehicle having a front end and a rear end, forremoviang items from the ground into a loading space by means of asuction fan having a housing with an inlet and an outlet in saidhousing, wherein suction conduit means extend from said inlet in thehousing to the ground, wherein a suction nozzle is attached to saidsuction conduit means, and wherein a delivery conduit connects theoutlet of the fan housing to said loading space, the improvementcomprising a horizontal suction conduit leg extending laterallyoutwardly from said fan housing, a downwardly slanting suction conduitleg connected to said horizontally extending suction conduit leg, saiddownwardly slanting suction conduit leg having a longitudinal axisextending at an angle relative to the horizontal and in a trailingposition relative to the direction of vehicle advance, and rotatableconnecting means for connecting said nozzle to said downwardly slantingsuction conduit leg whereby said nozzle is permitted to rotate aboutsaid longitudinal axis of the downwardly slanting and trailing suctionconduit leg.
 26. The attachment according to claim 25, wherein saiddownwardly slanting leg of the suction conduit is made of flexiblematerial.